Flying

Well as we've all expected, d-day finally arrived, the Day of Departure. As I write this, it's 10:30pm local time, and it's 59 degrees and sunny here in Anchorage, Alaska. My flight was a 7:30am departure from MPLS International, with a direct flight to Anchor-town.

My first lesson learned: always aim to be one of the last people to board your flight. Reason being, is that you can pretty-much pick whatever seats are still open to be yours for the flight. I've heard-tell that this can even work in First Class. Think about it: how often has your steward(ess) ever asked you for your boarding pass to confirm your seat? Never, and that's why I go to sit directly behind First Class, with a row to myself and ample leg-room.

Beyond that, I got some great views of Glacier Bay National Park and Mount Fairweather from my spacious window seat.


From there, my new roommate/host Natalie picked me up from the airport, and it was time to explode the bid damn box, assemble the bike, sort out my room and see the town.

There was a little biking around town to run some errands (in my genius, I packed both mine and Kendra's U-locks; off to the Post Office) and orient.

After a tasty curry dinner, Rob showed me some of the better hills in-town for long-boarding, where we made some great, long turns in the crisp spring air and sharp, ever-present light of not-dusk, then it was back to the apartment, where I find myself now. Tomorrow, it's off to meet my new boss and figure out the weekend. Rumor has it there might be some trad climbing just out of town, and some biking to be sure.